One year ago, the DoJ seized the domains of several well-known online poker sites and handed down several indictments. Later it was dubbed ‘Black Friday” by the online poker industry. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) reminded U.S. online poker players of this anniversary by putting out this video titled “the Players Will Never Fold.”
John Pappas, PPA’s executive director said,
“It’s been a full year since the rights of millions of American poker players were trampled and … we are calling on congress to reverse this wrong and reinstate our basic freedoms.”
Since that day, the PPA and the American Gaming Association (AGA) has lobbied hard against state by state online poker in favor of a federal law regulating all online poker in the United States. Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., AGA president and CEO reiterated last week why the AGA is in favor of regulation,
“As long as these sites are operating outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement and with little to no regulation, Americans who continue to patronize them will be at risk of being defrauded.”
BCLC released a press release showing that it is headed in a new direction concerning its online business. It is partnering with Manitoba Lotteries to provide the people of Manitoba, Canada online gambling.
“We launched online gaming in British Columbia to provide a secure and legal option for people who play online and to keep revenues in the province that otherwise would be going to illegal gambling sites,” said the Honourable Rich Coleman, Minister Responsible for BCLC. “We are pleased to share our expertise with Manitoba to strengthen regulated online gambling in Canada.”
BCLC provides regulated online gambling to British Columbians since 2004 through their PlayNow.com website.
“Innovation is key to growth in any business,” said Michael Graydon, President and CEO of BCLC. “We are creating a new revenue stream for BCLC by leveraging our experience and the expertise of our best-in-class vendors and providing these services to another jurisdiction.”
The website is expected to launch in 2013 and will be developed, designed, tested and mostly managed by the BCLC. It is suppose to start out with casino and poker games and a possibility of sports betting and bingo. The site will be regulated by the Manitoba Gaming Control Commission.
The legislation that will allow people in New Jersey to gamble online at a virtual Atlantic City casino has taken another step forward. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted 11-0 to advance the proposal.
Though unanimous, there were five senators who were concerned that horse tracks were not a part of the legislation. Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union who is the main sponsor of the legislation hopes that online gambling will be running in New Jersey by the fall. He also stated that a deal has not been reach with Gov. Chris Christie as yet. Christie vetoed a similar bill to this last year.
Sen. Raymond Lesniak states,
“What we want to do is get this Internet gaming up and going before the end of the year, hopefully by September, so that New Jersey can be the first in the nation and lead the way.”
What’s at stake? Money, jobs and prestige. A lobbyist for Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, Bill Pascrell III, said that the state who establishes online gambling first could become the technology hub for the online gambling industry.
Pascrell wants New Jersey to be the hub, “We need to create the Silicon Valley of Internet gaming in New Jersey.”
Money and jobs is another big factor in the push to get online gambling. The state Casino Revenue Fund Advisory Commission consultant quoted by officials has said that online gambling could generate $210 million to $250 million in gross revenue, 1,900 jobs and $46 million to $55 million in tax revenue.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wants an explanation from the government on why it let Utah banker John Campos plead guilty to a misdemeanor instead of a felony. The government’s plan to prosecute Campos and avoid an April 9th trail has hit a snag.
Of the dozen of individuals that have been charged from Black Friday last April, some have already pleaded guilty. Half remain at large and this is the only scheduled trail. Campos admitted the bank which he served as vice-chairman of its board of directors as well as part owner processed $200 million in gambling proceeds from 2009-2011.
Questioning Campos’ sentence, Judge Kaplan asked why the government is “…basically walking away from the prosecution?” He will decide whether to except the pleas June 27th. Assistant US Attorney Arlo Devlin-Brown said that the deal is takes in consideration the risks of going to trail.
One of those risks is that a jury may find that it is not illegal to process money for online gambling companies. Devlin-Brown said, “There would be a risk that a jury on that basis could have a problem.”
As part of his plea, Campas said, SunFirst Bank processed online gambling proceeds and that PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker promised to invest $10 million in his bank. He also said the investment was not because he agreed to process the gambling proceeds.
WMS Industries subsidiary WMS Gaming Inc. wants to play. The casino game maker released this press release today announcing it has applied for a interactive gaming license with the State Gaming Control Board in Nevada.
WAUKEGAN, Ill. & LAS VEGAS, Mar 27, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — WMS Gaming Inc., a subsidiary of WMS Industries Inc. WMS -0.42% , a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of games, gaming content and gaming machines to the worldwide gaming industry, announced today that it submitted an application to the State Gaming Control Board (SGCB) for an interactive gaming license in the State of Nevada.
“The filing of WMS’ interactive gaming application with the SGCB in Nevada represents an important milestone in our efforts to support our customers’ needs with a full array of products and managed services in the online and interactive arenas,” said Orrin J. Edidin, President. “Just as we develop and produce innovative gaming content and gaming machines for our customers’ land-based casinos, WMS is committed to assisting our customers in establishing strong interactive gaming relationships with their patrons in the casino, at home or on their mobile devices. By leveraging our understanding of players’ entertainment needs and preferences with our expertise in creating compelling content and solutions, we have made significant progress in our development of a technology and entertainment content base that will help our customers unlock the emerging opportunities provided through online capabilities.
“With the success and experience we have in online and interactive gaming — through our award-winning UK-based JackpotParty.com online casino; our popular, player-appealing Lucky Cruise™ social casino found on Facebook and our classic slot content for mobile and other casual play users — WMS is well positioned to help our customers move forward with confidence,” Edidin added. “Nevada is a recognized leader in gaming regulation and is moving consistently forward with rules and regulations for interactive gaming enablement and we are looking forward to providing our customers in the state with industry-leading products and services in a safe and secure online environment.”
About WMS
WMS is engaged in serving the gaming industry worldwide by designing, manufacturing and marketing games, video and mechanical reel-spinning gaming machines, video lottery terminals and in gaming operations, which consists of the placement of leased participation gaming machines in legal gaming venues. The Company’s online iGaming business develops and markets products, services and end-to-end solutions that address global online wagering and casual gaming opportunities. WMS is proactively addressing the next stage of casino gaming floor evolution with its WAGE-NET® networked gaming solution, a suite of systems technologies and applications designed to increase customers’ revenue generating capabilities and operational efficiency. More information on WMS can be found at www.wms.com or visit the Company on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
Bovada Poker which is the sister site to Bodog that accepts U.S. players has now begun blocking new sign-ups from 4 U.S. states: Maryland, New York, Utah and Washington.
It is unclear as of yet if existing players from those states be allowed to play from this point forward.
It is so far still uncertain as to why players from these four U.S. states have suddenly been excluded. For three states, New York, Utah and Washington there is a specific law banning online gambling or a strong resistance to having it legalized. Maryland does have the dubious distinction of being the state that in February indicted Bodog founder Calvin Ayre.
Others think that it could be a payment processor issue in those states and an issue may come up with getting players their money in a timely matter.
We will continue to monitor this issue and update as soon as we can. As of now, new players from Maryland, New York, Utah and Washington are banned from playing at Bovada.
According to an iGaming Business article, The Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Mark Lipparelli, confirmed that intra-state online poker could be up and running for real money in 2012 for all those online operators with approved licenses and technical systems approved by the state.
Mr. Lipparelli detailed the timeline for Nevada’s online gaming application process and confirmed that the approval will give a company the ability to operate without additional legislation.
“The process from here will see licence applicants appearing on our public agendas in May/June. For the successful licence applicants, the last step in turning the systems on will be a technical evaluation, and although we’re not certain how long this process will take, it’s plausible, even likely, that you’ll see the first set of systems approved for initial deployment by the fall.”
Late spring and early summer is the timeline according to Lipparelli for technical evaluations for the operators that were “thoughtful about their approach and had their systems reviewed by test labs in the past” could very possibly be in operation be late fall to early part of 2013.
As a result of the investigation of the Department of Justice that shut down the three largest U.S. facing online poker sites, a Canadian citizen has now plead guilty to conspiracy charges.
In a plea to the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Ryan Lang said he was the middleman between online poker companies and the brokers who tricked U.S. banks into processing money for online gambling. Land admitted he helped circumvent U.S. laws from 2007 to the middle of 2010.
In a statement Lang said;
“I wish to publically apologize to anyone I’ve harmed by my conduct.”
Sentencing is set for September 24th of this year and Lang is facing up to 30 years in prison for pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit tax fraud and violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, accepting funds in connection with Internet gambling and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
These charges come from the indictments handed down last April that shut down the U.S. operations of Absolute Poker, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars. A Manhattan federal judge issued orders on around 76 bank accounts in 14 countries and seized 5 internet domain names.
Several defendants from those indictments have already pleaded guilty but several others are still awaiting trails.
In a press release today, Shuffle Master announced today that it will acquire B2B online company Ongame Network LTD from bwin.party services. Ongame is one of the largest online poker providers with over 25 of the iGaming strongest brands.
Gavin Isaacs, Chief Executive Officer of Shuffle Master said;
“Our acquisition of Ongame will allow Shuffle Master to offer a scalable, proven and secure solution for online poker. Immediately upon closing the transaction, we will be able to begin leveraging all of Ongame’s experience and expertise in iGaming. I am confident that Ongame will fit seamlessly into our ongoing interactive initiatives of delivering our renowned brands to online gaming operators, partner web sites, social networks and mobile platforms. Poker is a natural fit for our table-centric online offerings and our many jurisdictional licenses present a compelling opportunity for our current and future online customers. This acquisition is further evidence of our great momentum as we continue to execute on our core businesses and pursue our strategic objectives for future growth. We look forward to Ongame joining the Shuffle Master family and we welcome them on board.”
Peter Bertilsson, Managing Director of Ongame said;
“Shuffle Master is renowned for offering its customers a unique and diverse suite of products designed to meet the needs of today’s online operators and casinos. We believe that our experience and expertise in the European market is a natural fit with Shuffle Master’s considerable commitment and history in developing innovative games and products for land based operators. I am confident that together, our organizations are going to be able to develop the very best in new and innovative solutions for the iGaming market.”
Shuffle Master will pay euro $15 million in cash, and euro 10 million in cash within five years of closing based on the legalizing poker in the United States with those 5 years.
In a follow up to Homeland Security seizing the Bodog.com domain name, a federal grand jury in Baltimore, MD., has now indicted Bodog Entertainment Group, four Canadians involved with said group and Bodog founder Calvin Ayre.
The indictments cover two charges stemming from June 2006 to January 2012, conducting an Illegal gambling business and money laundering conspiracy. Federal prosecutors allege that the group conspired to pay over $100 Million in sports gambling winnings through processors located in the United States.
Calvin Ayre posted this statement through his blog;
“I see this as abuse of the US criminal justice system for the commercial gain of large US corporations. It is clear that the online gaming industry is legal under international law and in the case of these documents is it also clear that the rule of law was not allowed to slow down a rush to try to win the war of public opinion.
These documents were filed with Forbes magazine before they were filed anywhere else and were drafted with the consumption of the media as a primary objective. We will all look at this and discuss the future with our advisors, but it will not stop my many business interests globally that are unrelated to anything in the US and it will not stop my many charity projects through my foundation. You can also follow this story here on the number one global online gaming news and entertainment site and the only site I will be doing interviews with for the next while…CalvinAyre.com”
